Abomination of Desolation

I would like to describe to you how the Lord revealed to me what the “Abomination of Desolation” is during my regular, routine scripture study. It might be that learning how to study the scriptures is more important than learning the meaning of the mystery that is the Abomination of Desolation.

I started by opening my Bible to Jeremiah with the intent to read chapters 50 and 51 which are specifically about Babylon. As I was making my way through Jeremiah 50, a verse caught my eye that I had not noticed before. It says in verse 23, “How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! How is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!” In this verse I saw Babylon = desolation.

I stopped and went to my phone to look up where in scripture it mentions Abomination of Desolation so I used the word “desolation” as my search term. The word “desolation” occurs many times without the accompanying word “abomination.” So I redid my search using the two words together.

D&C 84:117 says, “And verily I say unto you, the rest of my servants, go ye forth…setting forth clearly and understandingly the desolation of abomination in the last days.” If missionaries are supposed to warn of this, it seems like we should know what it is we are warning against.

D&C 88:84-85 says, “Labor diligently…among the Gentiles for the last time…to prepare the saints for the hour of judgment which is to come; That their souls may escape the wrath of God, the desolation of abomination which awaits the wicked, both in this world and in the world to come.” This seems to say that the desolation of abomination has the power to torment the wicked both in this world and the afterlife. Chilling!

I used to think that the Abomination of Desolation was some kind of plague because sometimes the word “desolating scourge” is used to talk about plagues. I don’t think the A of D is a sickness of the physical kind anymore but a mental plague.

Matthew 24 uses the two words together and refers to Daniel’s prophecies. It says, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place.” I hopped over to Daniel in my Bible.

Daniel refers to the Abomination of Desolation in chapters 9 and 11. In chapter 9:27, Daniel says, “for the overspreading of abominations, he shall make it [object unknown] desolate.” There is also mention of the cessation of oblations in the temple in that verse. Daniel 11:31 says, “and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.” Again, the temple has stopped operations and someone has placed the abomination in it or on the altar. The desecration of the temple is also mentioned in Ezek 23:39 and Jer 51:51. I followed a footnote to Ezekiel 7.

Ezek 7:20-22 explains that robbers enter the temple and defile it. “As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made the images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore have I set it far from them. And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it. My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.”

Herein is the key. The item that they set in place of God’s ornament was the “images of their abominations.” To me that means that the Desolation of Abominations is pornography — images of their abominations.

The images that people store in their minds are a plague on them. They cannot be erased. In death we leave our body behind, but we take our mind with us and all the filthy images. It’s desolation reaches into the Afterlife.

Which is why we all have to be super clear in warning others. Pornography is the Abomination of Desolation. The Lord has commanded all believers saying, “Go ye forth as your circumstances shall permit…setting forth clearly and understandingly the desolation of abomination in the last days.” (D&C 84:117)

If you have been attacked by a purveyor of pornography or infected by it's pernicious and perilous content, there is hope. The counterstrategy needed to fight this infection may vary by person but here are some ideas.

1. The Savior Jesus Christ is the only one who can heal and you must humble yourself before him and plead for mercy.

2. You must retake control of your mind. (Read Boyd K Packer's thoughts on that here)

3. You must begin to "let virtue garnish your thoughts unceasingly" D&C 121:45

4. You may need to tighten your control of your personal habits. Read this book for new insights.

5. You must live the law of chastity and forgo any self stimulation as described by Jesus, "But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman, to lust after her, hath committed adultery already in his heart. Behold, I give unto you a commandment, that ye suffer none of these things to enter into your heart; For it is better that ye should deny yourselves of these things, wherein ye will take up your cross, than that ye should be cast into hell." (3 Nephi 12:28-30)